Had a very active week in the second week, punctuated by lazy afternoons on the beach. I should have written this all up as soon as it happened, but this not being the case, I can't remember the specific order of things.

On monday we tried to get into Pearl harbour but it was so busy there was a three hour wait just to get in, so we scrapped that idea and went over to the Windward side to visit the Valley of the Temples in Kaneohae. Under the shade of the Ko'olau mountain range the Valley of the Temples is one of the most beautiful sites in Oahu. It is a plot of land given to all the faiths of Hawaii, for burials, or temples. But its main 'attraction' is the Buddhist Byodo-In temple <see pictures>. On entering the temple grounds you must ring a giant bronzed bell, to spread the teachings of Buddah and to bring happiness. You can walk amongst the serene gardens, and the only noises are the trickling of water, and the low melodious clang of the bell. Byodo-In is a replica of a 900 year old temple situated in Uji, Japan. Inside the Byodo-In Temple is a nine-foot Lotus Buddha, the largest wooden Buddha carved in over 900 years.

This is one of my favourite sites in Hawaii, it's almost impossible to be unmoved by such a beautiful setting.

On Tuesday we set out early to try and avoid the queues at Pearl Harbour, but there were hoards of people! Worse then the day before, the queue stretched all the way round the parking lot. So we scratched that idea and we went to the Honolulu Academy of Arts in the morning. It is a small but well set out gallery, which has a Van Gogh a Monet, and a Manet. The main exhibition I wanted to see was a selection of the Islamic Art that was owned by the heiress Doris Duke. She inherited a vast sum of money from her father who owned a tobacco company. She spent a lot of time and money amassing artefacts, art, tiles, pottery/ china, and various ecletic objects to fill her self designed house named 'Shangri La'. We went later in the holiday to visit the house, I will write more on this later.

After lunch at the Art Gallery, we took a drive up and around the Punch-bowl crator and Tantalus. Punchbowl is a military cemetry in Honolulu, which has a very grand memorial block in the centre and is surrounded by graves and memorials of those lost at war. Tantalus is a state park which has a a great view of Honolulu and Waikiki.

On Wednesday we went to snorkel at Hanauma Bay, a sunken volcanic crator which has been turned into a nature reserve and a safe place for people (absolute beginners) to swim and see the tropical fish. It was a wonderful place, and the fish are used to people, so there is the opportunity to see fishes that are wonderfully coloured; yellow, pink, orange, red, green and many others. All bright and vibrant, it was quite breath taking and a wonderful experience I will never forget.

On Thursday, we drove up the North side of the island, where, in the winter season, you can see (or experience) 20-30ft waves, but in the summer there is very little swell (unless there is a hurricane out to sea, then the swell is vey choppy). The drive up to the North Shore is one of the most beautiful drives. You driving along the coast on the right, and the mountains on your right; getting the best of the views of Oahu.

I keep saying 'beautiful', if I was a better writer, I'd be able to emphasise how 'beautiful' and spectacular (ah, that's a better word) this place is. Is it cliche to say 'paradise'? I still can't really believe we are here.

When got pizza and went to Malaekahana beach park, which is one of my mum's spiritual homes. The beach was totally secluded; a rare thing to encounter in Oahu. It was another 'beautiful' place.

I have been trying to write this for about an hour now, so I am going to sign off and restart this 'blogging effort' tomorrow!

Alooooooha for now